A Missouri man has been charged with murder in a housefire in Columbia on June 15.
Brandon Butchkoski, 47, was previously charged with arson in a second fire at the same house on June 29, a probable cause statement said. And residents at the home where the fires took place said there had been three previous fires.
No details on the other three fires were released, and Butchkoski has not been charged with those. He was initially charged on July 3 with arson and possession of a controlled substance in relation to the June 29 fire, but this week, prosecutors added a second arson count and second degree murder in connection with the June 15 fire.
On that night, residents called to report the blaze and found Donovan Baylis, 31, suffering from severe burns over most of his body. He was rushed to a hospital and lingered for a month before succumbing to his injuries on July 14.
A roommate told police he had been iside working on his doorbell camera when he heard a thud outside. He went out and found a wall of fire and Baylis burning. Another roommate said Baylis had gone out to try to extinguish the blaze but was engulfed himself when he tried to stomp the fire out.
The two roommates tried to use a garden hose to put out the blaze while calling 911.
The first roommate said he had a glimpse of the suspected arsonist, describing him “as a white male, 35-40 years of age, six feet tall, skinny mustache, wearing a durag or hat, and had a sweatshirt tied around his waist.” He left on a small BMX-style bicycle, the roommate said.
Investigators later found a backpack not far away containing a gas can nozzle, a small paintbrush, and a tube of red paint. The backpack had a strong smell of gasoline. Surveillance footage showed a man matching the roommate’s description in two locations.
The investigation did not locate a suspect, but two weeks later, officers were called back to the same house for another fire. There, they found a backpack on the roof containing “a cleaner bottle, a drink container, and latex gloves filled with gasoline.”
Surveillance footage this time clearly showed Butchkoski walking nearby with a backpack matching the one found on the victims’ roof . And security footage from a neighbor of the victims’ showed him apparently hurling the backpack onto the victims’ roof.
When he was arrested nearly a week later, Butchkoski was carrying yet another backpack that contained a bandana stained with red paint. The Missouri Highway Patrol crime lab matched the paint to the tube found in the June 15 backpack, saying it “could” have come from the same source.
Police have not commented on a motive for the repeated attacks.
Butchkoski was initially denied bond on the original arson charge, but a judge relented and granted him bond on September 8. He posted the bond the next day and was released.
According to the probable cause statement, Butchkoski was previous convicted of possession of methamphetamine and resisting arrest in Tennessee, possession of a controlled substance and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Ohio, and stealing and resisting arrest in Missouri.
Following the new charged, however, the judge revoked his bond, although a review hearing has been set for Tuesday, KOMO reported.
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[Featured image: Brandon Butchkoski/Boone County Sheriff’s Office]
